does protein actually matter or is it forum lore at this point
Trying to get a straight answer on this: does protein actually matter or is it forum lore at this point.
Compared two scans from different clinics and panicked over a difference that was inside the error margin.
Kept the same programme for a year instead of changing it every six weeks. That was the change that worked.
Protein was the whole problem. Appetite dropped and I was eating well under target without noticing for a month.
Ask me anything specific. Anything general I will probably get wrong.
best — the order this archive was captured in
Retitled — the original claimed a composition change the scans cannot distinguish.
Reduced appetite makes hitting a protein target a logistics problem rather than a motivation problem, which is why the practical advice here is about timing and food choice rather than willpower.
Agreed — protein and resistance training. Everything else in these threads is a rounding error on those two.
What was the rate of weight change over that window?
protein and resistance training, that is the entire intervention
Hydration status and fasting state affect the lean mass estimate. Standardising both is the difference between a comparison and a coin toss.
the scale cannot distinguish tissue types and never could
the scale cannot distinguish tissue types and never could
Adding the free proxy — track a few lifts monthly. It costs nothing and it is longitudinal.
Nothing here is a training or nutrition prescription. Targets and programmes are matters for somebody who knows your history and your training background.
Resistance training, and at what frequency?
Resistance training, and at what frequency?
This is the whole intervention. Protein and resistance training.
Right — strength retention is a free proxy and it tracks better than most people expect.
Two scans on the same machine 5 months apart. Lean mass held better than I expected and the lifts told the same story for free.
Have the lifts held, dropped, or moved around?
Lost slower for six months deliberately and my composition change was not obviously different. Training was what mattered.
Are you comparing against your own baseline or against a published average?
What is protein intake actually looking like, measured rather than estimated?
Disagree — slower loss does not automatically preserve lean mass. Protein and training do the work, not the rate on its own.
Three scans over eighteen months, same machine, same conditions. Only the third one made the first two interpretable.
resistance training first, cardio if there is time left
Started weighing protein rather than estimating it. The gap between what I thought and what I ate was embarrassing.
DEXA has a real error margin and people quote it to one decimal
Careful, that is a nutrition prescription aimed at another member and this board does not do those.
Tracked grip strength and three lifts monthly. Cheaper than scanning and directionally the same answer.
- 1Resistance training, and at what frequency?6 comments in this branch · started by u/nayeli_fonseca